Boasting an increasingly busy exhibition schedule, Specialised Exhibitions turned to both Facebook and Twitter in March this year, as “we felt that these two platforms were both sustainable and useful for the organisation, their clients, the specific events, media partners, exhibitors and the public” said Alma Maxwell, owner of Outsourced Communications. According to Maxwell, “identifying the appropriate social media to target for your company’s profile, and choosing from one of the many channels available to ensure that you are targeting your messages to the right audience, is central to maximising your presence within the social media sphere”.
As part of Outsourced Communications service to Specialised Exhibitions,
Maxwell also assists by training personnel within the organization to
correctly use the chosen platforms, ensuring that they become a great tool
in terms of creating awareness, and stimulating dialogue, about events and
exhibitions. Having been established in 1984, the bi-ennial KwaZulu Natal
Industrial Technology Exhibition has benefitted by moving with the times,
with a presence on both Facebook (on the Specialised Exhibitions page) and
Twitter (by following @SpecExh or hashtagging #KITEX).
South Africa boasts almost 4 million Facebook and close to 1 million Twitter users, and each of these platforms offers a different kind of interaction between the exhibitors, customers and supporters of Specialised Exhibitions events. Maxwell said that “Facebook is the perfect platform to exchange detailed and in-depth communication between exhibitors, visitors, and the media, whilst Twitter is also ideal as it allows for the real-time sharing of news. By using a hashtag when posting about specific events, tweeters are able to get rapid responses to their questions from Specialised Exhibitions”.
Gary Corin, Managing Director of Specialised Exhibitions, said that “the use of social media as marketing tools is a trend that we at Specialised Exhibitions aim to take full advantage of. The ability to communicate with a captive audience is crucial when many of our exhibitions are very industry-specific. In the short time that we have been actively entrenching a presence on both Twitter and Facebook, we have already noticed and benefited from the amount of dialogue between exhibitors, clients and
interested parties”.
Those with an interest in the KwaZulu Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition are encouraged to become a fan of Specialised Exhibitions on Facebook, and to follow @SpecExh on Twitter. Those who wish to find out more about the 2011 KZN Industrial Technology Exhibition can visit www.kznindustrial.co.za. A limited number of stands are still available, potential exhibitors can contact Loftie Eaton on 041 585-8274 or email loftiee@specialised.com for details. Facebook users can visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Specialised-Exhibitions/150599091668208, and those with a Twitter account can log on to http://twitter.com/SpecExh for additional information.
Ends
Issued on behalf of:
Specialised Exhibitions
Press release compiled by:
Rob Evans
Disseminated by:
Olivia Jones Communications
For more information please contact:
Olivia Symcox
Cell 082 537 8840
Work 031 303 9341
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